TRICK OR TREAT!

Okay - now this is what I'm talking about! This Halloween was just so much fun! Colin was old enough to really get into it. Cannon was psyched up for it for weeks. And now that Chance has his communication device, he was able to really trick or treat.
We started the day off at school like normal, then headed to Rob's work for a party at Valley College for lunch. Can you guess who Rob is? Such a cute and original costume! Off to bed for a nap, dinner and then trick or treating. Grandma dressed up in her camos and gave out candy. She was such a trooper to sit out there for all that time, but I do think she had fun... and she nibbled a bit (chocolate freak that she is)! And it was such a treat for us to be able to go out together with the kids. The last couple of years we had to take turns while the other gave out candy. So this was nice!
Chance was the Incredible Hulk. Cannon was a Ninja Turtle and Colin was Woody from Toy Story. We had to laugh trying to put that god awful green face paint on Chance. He kept wanting to wipe it off. If we could just keep his hands off his face long enough for it to dry we'd be okay. Overall, it didn't look bad! Cannon didn't want to wear his mask that went with the costume, so we did his face green too. We were out trick or treating for about an hour and a half and the kids were great. Chance started doing the "I've had too much fun" sideways walk after a while and Rob let him take a few breaks and have a treat. He was pretty worn out when it was all said and done. Colin actually said, "Okay Mommy, I want to go home now!" ha ha ha ha... I wonder if I was having more fun than them?!
Here's a few pictures and a video of the boys getting some candy and Chance using his device to participate just like everyone else. Oh, it was so great! just made my heart sing to see Chance enjoying himself so much!
After bath, Daddy decided to turn off all the lights and make the house pitch black and the kids played with their light sticks for like an hour. Swinging them around, make shapes in the dark. I think Colin hit himself in the face with his enough times that he finally quit! It was lots of fun.
Let me tell you though, I'm glad Halloween only comes along once a year. They were so juiced up on sugar, it took me an hour to get Colin to sleep, Chance was up at least an hour and a half after his bed time meds (which usually kick in in 20-30 minutes) and Cannon, oh yeah, he was up until... are you ready for this?... MIDNIGHT! I had to nearly hold him down in bed to fall asleep! GRACIOUS.... once a year, that's all we can handle! :)

Halloween at Our Little Preschool

Yup, we're back at Our Little Preschool! So things didn't work out so well for Cannon at the VA preschool, much to our disappointment. Let's just say that the "learning through play" philosophy didn' t go over too well with this former classroom teacher. Not to mention, the unstructured play was too hard for Cannon to handle. He needs structure, praise, and active learning. So, after several incidents, we decided it would be better to put him back in his old preschool. He loved it there, and actually cried to me for several weeks that he wanted to go back. So, THANK GOD, there was a space open. Let me just tell you, that's a God thing! When we first enrolled there, Katie Brinkley and I camped out bright and early in the morning to wait in line in what has become known in this country as the hunt for the spot in the best preschool! So to find out there was a spot open and Cannon could return, we were thrilled! Right away he got back into the swing of things and seriously, overnight, he just did a 180 in his behavior. He was sweet, obedient, and excited about going to school. Much to our surprise, his first week back he had a field trip, to... you guessed it... Ridgefield Farms! Twice in one week, man, he was a lucky kid! Then the third week back, it's time for a costume parade and a party! Here are a few pictures of Cannon back at the wonderful wonderful wonderful, Our Little Preschool! Oh, and isn't it so cute how Colin managed to slip into the class picture? He's so ready for school!

Dinosaur Land!

So when you're looking for something fun to do with three boys, how could you possibly go wrong with dinosaurland? We went once last year, but Colin was too little to really enjoy it. This time, it was GREAT! Cannon wanted me to read every sign along the path about each and every dinosaur. He was really into learning about which ones were meat eaters and which ones were vegetable eaters. Chance just loved the freedom of running around (poor daddy got a work out!) Colin seemed a bit scared at first, but as soon as he realized they weren't going to come to life and bite him, he settled in. I think the mammoth was his favorite!